1885 English cricket season

1885 English cricket season
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1885 was the 99th season of cricket in England since the foundation of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). It was the third in succession in which Nottinghamshire was proclaimed the champion county.

Champion County

[a]

Playing record (by county)

[1]

County Played Won Lost Drawn
Derbyshire 9 3 4 2
Gloucestershire 14 6 7 1
Hampshire 10 2 8 0
Kent 11[b] 6 3 2
Lancashire 11[b] 6 3 2
Middlesex 10 2 7 1
Nottinghamshire 12 6 1 5
Somerset 6 1 5 0
Surrey 20 12 4 4
Sussex 14 3 9 2
Yorkshire 16 7 2 7

Leading batsmen (qualification 20 innings)

1885 English season[2]
Name Team Matches Innings Not outs Runs Highest score Average 100s 50s
Arthur Shrewsbury Nottinghamshire 16 24 4 1130 224 not out 56.50 4 3
Walter Read Surrey 27 42 0 1880 163 44.76 6 9
WG Grace Gloucestershire 25 42 3 1688 221 not out 43.28 4 10
William Gunn Nottinghamshire
MCC		 27 43 3 1451 203 36.27 1 9
Maurice Read Surrey 24 35 2 1137 186 not out 34.45 1 6

Leading bowlers (qualification 1,000 balls)

1885 English season[3]
Name Team Balls bowled Runs conceded Wickets taken Average Best bowling 5 wickets
in innings 		10 wickets
in match
Johnny Briggs Lancashire 2596 921 67 13.74 9/29 8 2
William Attewell Nottinghamshire
MCC		 5204 1218 87 14.00 6/27 6 1
George Lohmann Surrey 5069 2037 142 14.34 8/18 9 3
Alec Hearne Kent 2574 928 64 14.50 8/35 4 1
William Roller Surrey 1666 537 37 14.51 5/34 1 0

Notable events

  • 1 June – Kent captain Lord Harris writes a letter to Lancashire concerning the "unfair" bowling of Nash and Crossland and decides not to play Lancashire unless they refrain from employing those two bowlers – the refusal is maintained even when the pair drop out.[4]
  • On 17 July, Johnny Briggs and Dick Pilling playing for Lancashire against Surrey set a record stand for the tenth wicket of 173, which stands until 1899.[5]

Notes

a An unofficial seasonal title sometimes proclaimed by consensus of media and historians prior to December 1889 when the official County Championship was constituted. Although there are ante-dated claims prior to 1873, when residence qualifications were introduced, it is only since that ruling that any quasi-official status can be ascribed.
b The return match between Kent and Lancashire was cancelled because Lord Harris objected to the bowling of two Lancashire players

References

  1. ^ Wynne-Thomas, Peter; The Rigby A-Z of Cricket Records; p. 54 ISBN 072701868X
  2. ^ First Class Batting in England in 1885
  3. ^ First Class Bowling in England in 1885
  4. ^ Green, Benney; Wisden Anthology 1864-1900; pp. 333-338; ISBN 978-0-354-08555-7
  5. ^ Webber, Roy; The Playfair Book of Cricket Records; p. 127. Published 1951 by Playfair Books.

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